Stanford at Odds With Victim Over Plaque at Site Where Brock Turner Assaulted Her

The victim of a high-profile sexual assault at Stanford University is no longer participating in the university’s attempt to mark the site of the crime with a garden, the university confirmed on Monday.

The university and Emily Doe, as the victim is known, agreed to place a plaque at the location of the 2015 assault, for which a former student, Brock Turner, was found guilty. Stanford agreed to use a quotation from Emily’s victim-impact statement on the marker, but the university rejected her suggestions for which quote to use. Instead, the university proposed using the quote “I’m OK, everything’s OK,” according to Michele Dauber, a professor of law at Stanford who was helping to represent Emily in the discussions.

As a result, Emily decided to no longer participate or allow her quotes to be used on the marker.

Dauber, who worked with Emily and Stanford on the project to remove a dumpster, add lighting, and create a garden where the assault took place, said Stanford’s decision to use the out-of-context phrase, “I’m OK, everything’s OK,” and to reject Emily’s suggestions was “a very poor choice.”

The decision to reject Emily’s suggested quotes was approved by Persis Drell, Stanford’s provost, Dauber said. A university spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking confirmation.

The university rejected at least two quotes proposed by Emily. According to the university, however, it was the idea of Emily’s lawyer and representative to turn the site of the assault into a garden, and when Stanford officials agreed, they suggested multiple alternative quotes for the plaque. According to E.J. Miranda, a Stanford spokesman, a sexual-assault counselor said the quote Emily had suggested could be triggering to sexual-assault survivors, so it was rejected.

Instead, Miranda said, Stanford proposed three other quotes: “I’m right here, I’m OK, everything’s OK, I’m right here”; “You are beautiful, you are to be valued, respected, undeniably, every minute of every day, you are powerful and nobody can take that away from you”; and “On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought every day for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you.”

After this back and forth, Miranda said, “We were unable to come to agreement on a quote to be used, and Emily Doe’s lawyer subsequently communicated that she did not want any quote to be used.”

Miranda said the space was meant to become a “contemplative garden” and “a healing space for solace.”

Further details of the discussion between Emily’s lawyer and Stanford are confidential, Miranda said.

Turner was found guilty in March 2016 of sexually assaulting Emily while she was unconscious. Turner is now appealing his conviction.